Parking meter



Feb. 24, 1953 c, H. MARTIN 2,629,438

PARKING METER Filed June 15, 1951 Patented Feb. 24, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in parking meters.

. .The principal objects ,of the invention are directed to the provisionof .parking meter apparatus which is adapted for timing the parking ofvehicles in adjacent parking areas and is accomplished by a meter havingdual timing means on opposite sides which means are visible toenforcement authorities from either side of the apparatus.

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure andrelative arrangements of parts thereof, as will fully appear by aperusal of the description below and by various specific features whichwill be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with the foregoing and variousother novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention aswill become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, myinvention consists in certain novel features of construction and in thecombination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter moreparticularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fullydescribed and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are front elevational and plan views of timing meansembodying the novel features of the invention; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are front and side elevational views showing the housingfor the timing means.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the invention will befully described.

The timing means of the parking meter i has a clock mechanismrepresented by 2 which will be of any well known form that is wound upperiodically for continuous operation. The mechanism may be arranged forsay eight day operation.

A shaft represents the output of the clock mechanism which may bearranged to rotate the shaft through one revolution during apredetermined period of time. For instance, the shaft i may rotatethrough one revolution in three hours.

Plates 5 are secured. to the clock mechanism on opposite sides thereofby spacers and said plates carry peripheral flanges t.

Circular inner discs iii preferablyformed from transparent material aresecured in some suitable manner to outer faces of the plates 6.

Hubs i2 arecarried by shafts and have vanes 14 fixed thereto whichextend radially therefrom.

Outer discs it are secured to outer ends of the hubs it. and outerradial edges of thevanes 14 so as to rotate therewith. Said discs 15will be 2 formed from transparent material. The hub, vanes and outerdisc [6 form a coin carrier or rotor, so that there are similar rotorson opposite sides of the clock mechanism.

For purposes of description it will be assumed that the shaft 4 isrotated continuously in a counter-clockwise direction.

The hubs l2 frictionally engage the shafts 4 so that said hubs i2, vanesl4 and outer discs l6 are rotated thereby, but therotors may be movedrelative to the shaft as will appear,

The flanges 8 are provided with entrance slots 29 for coins and should acoin inserted in a slot 28 engage an outer edge of one of the vanes,;pressure on the end of the vane by the coin will move the rotor up ordown, it being frictionally engaged with shaft 4, so that thecoin mayenter between adjacent vanes l4.

The discs Ill carry division lines 22 and indicia which, as shown, are0, "12, 24, 36, 48 and 60.

With a coin between adjacent vanes and the rotor being rotatedcounter-clockwise, the elapsed time or the parking time expires when theupper one or leading vane IA of adjacent vanes arrives at a line 22.

As an example, the parking time for a coin of certain denomination maybe sixty minutes so that with a coin between vanes 14 and [4", theparking time expires when the leading vane l4 arrives at the line 22fornumeral 60.

The discs .6 may have any arrangement of, lines desired as well as anydesired time designations and the vanes may be arranged in any desiredmanner, all depending onregulations controlling the parking time withreference to the rent therefor.

As the rotors are continuously rotated, the coins between adjacent vanesthereof arrive at a coin discharge Slot 24 in the lower portion of theflanges 8 through which they are discharged.

The mechanism described is supported in a housing 26 which is providedwith a removable plate 28. .Said plate 28 and an opposite side of thehousing are provided with windows 30 through which the sid s 91' facesof the mechanism is visible.

h p a e 26 i movable f m he ho s ng for access to the clockmechanism forremoval of coins in the housing as well as for winding the timemechanism. Lock means indicated by 32 looks the plate in place on thehousing.

11 51 5 3 in a sid o t hous ng coinide with the slots 29 of the m cha sm91' E a l an .2 o t a ins m y be in e ted etween adjacent vanes of therotors and the housing may take any desired form and be supported by apost or the like located between adjacent parking areas so that parkingat either side of the parking meter may be timed.

The vanes of the rotors and indicia of the members I may be arranged sothat various periods of elapsed time may be indicated with reference toa coin in the pockets formed by the vanes of the rotors.

Instructions may be applied to spaces or plates 3! on opposite faces ofthe housing.

The discs l0 and the discs 16 being transparent as they are, theposition of coins in the pockets of either rotor will be visible throughthe windows of the housing from either side thereof so that looking ateither window it is possible to determine whether a vehicle in eitherparking space is overparked.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely asbeing illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of theinvention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description, and all modifications and variations as fallwithin the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appendedclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. Parking meter apparatus having dual time indicating means on oppositesides which are visible from said sides comprising in combination, clockmechanism and inner vertically disposed plates secured to opposite sidesthereof, said clock mechanism having a rotatable shaft provided with endportions extending on a horizontal axis from opposite sides thereofthrough said inner plates, inner transparent discs adjacent and securedto said inner plates, rotors outwardly of said inner discs eachincluding secured together hubs frictionally engaging said end portionsof said shafts and outer transparent discs on outer ends of said hubsand circumferentially spaced radially extending vanes, said rotorscooperating with said inner discs to provide a series of coin pockets,and upper portions of said inner discs provided with time designations,upper edges of said plates being disposed below the planes of upperedges of said inner and outer discs whereby said time designations areexposed to view from opposite sides of the apparatus.

2. Parking meter apparatus having dual time indicating means on oppositesides which are visible from said sides comprising in combination, clockmechanism and inner vertically disposed plates secured to opposite sidesthereof, said clock mechanism having a rotatable shaft provided with endportions extending on a horizontal axis from opposite sides thereofthrough said inner plates, inner transparent discs adjacent and securedto said inner plates, rotors outwardly of said inner discs eachincluding secured together hubs frictionally engaging said end portionsof said shafts and outer transparent discs on outer ends of said hubsand circumferentially spaced radially extendin vanes, said rotorscooperating with said inner discs to provide a series of coin pockets,and upper portions of said inner discs provided with time designations,upper edges of said plates being disposed below the planes of upperedges of said inner and outer discs whereby said time designations areexposed to view from opposite sides of the apparatus, said platesprovided with flanges extending outwardly around said inner and outerdiscs closing outer ends of said coin pockets below upper edges thereof,said flanges having circumferentially spaced coin receiving anddischarge openings therethrough.

3. Parking meter apparatus having dual time indicating means on oppositesides which are visible from said sides comprising in combination, clockmechanism and inner vertically disposed plates secured to opposite sidesthereof, said clock mechanism having a rotatable shaft provided with endportions extending on a horizontal axis from opposite sides thereofthrough said inner plates, inner transparent discs adjacent and securedto said inner plates, rotors outwardly of said inner discs eachincluding secured together hubs frictionally engaging said end portionsof said shafts and outer transparent discs on outer ends of said hubsand circumferentially spaced radially extending vanes, said rotorscooperating with said inner discs to provide a series of coin pockets,and upper portions of said inner discs provided with time designations,upper edges of said plates being disposed below the planes of upperedges of said inner and outer discs whereby said time designations areexposed to view from opposite sides of the apparatus, said platesprovided. with flanges extending outwardly around said inner and outerdiscs closing outer ends of said coin pockets below upper edges thereof,said flanges having circumferentially spaced coin receiving anddischarge openings therethrough, and a casing supporting and enclosingsaid apparatus having transparent Willdows on opposite sides thereof inregister with said discs.

4. Parking meter apparatus having time indicating means on oppositesides thereof, clock mechanism having inner vertically disposed platemembers secured to opposite sides thereof and time indicationscircumferentially spaced on outer sides thereof, said clock mechanismincluding a rotatable shaft disposed on a horizontal axis and having endextensions extending outwardly from opposite sides thereof and throughand outwardly of said plate members, rotors on said end extensionsoutwardly of said plate members including hubs frictionally engagingsaid shaft extensions carrying outer transparent discs on outer sides ofsaid vanes and circumferentially spaced vanes extending radially fromsaid hubs cooperating with said discs to provide circumferentiallyspaced coin pockets, and flange means relative to which the peripheriesof said discs and outer ends of said vanes are rotatable closing thespaces between certain of said vanes and being provided with coin slotsfor insertion of coins between said vanes.

5. Parking meter apparatus having time indicating means on oppositesides thereof, clock mechanism having inner vertically disposed platemembers secured to opposite sides thereof and time indicationscircumferentially spaced on outer sides thereof, said clock mechanismincluding a rotatable shaft disposed on a horizontal axis and having endextensions extending outwardly from opposite sides thereof and throughand outwardly of said plate members, rotors on said end extensionsoutwardly of said plate members including hubs frictionally engagingsaid shaft extensions carrying outer transparent discs on outer sides ofsaid vanes and circumferentially spaced vanes extending radially fromsaid hubs cooperating with said discs to provide circumferentiallyspaced coin pockets, and flange means relative to which REFERENCES CITEDthe peripheries of Said discs and Outer ends 0f The following referencesare of record in the said vanes are rotatable closing the spaces befilef this t;

tween certainof said vanes and being provided with coin slots forinsertion of coins between 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS said vanes; and acasing supporting and closing Number Name Date said apparatus havingtransparent windows on 2,065,075 Johns Dec. 22, 1936 opposite sides inregister with said outer discs. 2,173,326 Bauie Sept. 19, 1939 2,323,402Jones July 6, 1943 CHARLES H. MARTIN. 10 2,369,717 Compton Feb. 20, 1945

